People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae on Tuesday criticized the government's 2026 tax reform plan, saying the Democratic Party of Korea's inability to stake out a position on the proposal "might itself be the answer."

Speaking on SBS Radio that day, Kim said Democratic Party members connected to the greater Seoul area in particular "appear to be flustered."

He also raised questions about the president's personal real estate dealings, saying the president appeared to have sold his own stake in advance — possibly after learning of the plan early — through what Kim called "the highly unusual method of setting up a seller-side collateral mortgage." "The government thinks far too little of the public," he said.

Kim then accused the president of doing the exact opposite of the real estate campaign pledges he made as a candidate. "He said he would expand supply, but that part hasn't been properly addressed at all," Kim said. "He said he would ease lending restrictions, but that hasn't happened either."

He went on to say the administration was "literally catching up to the Moon Jae-in government's real estate blunders at the speed of light," warning that "public anger over real estate will turn into fury directed at the government and the ruling party."

On the People Power Party's stagnant approval rating, Kim pointed to problems with the party leadership. "No matter how many times the party leadership goes to Cheong Wa Dae to hold a field supreme council meeting or conveys public sentiment on abolishing supplementary investigative powers, many people feel the messengers themselves are the problem — and that makes it hard for any of that to translate into higher approval ratings," he said.

Turning to party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, Kim said that while staying on may suit Jang personally, "it will do no good for the conservative camp or the country as a whole." "This is a time when a decision for the country and the party is needed," he said.

Kim questioned whether any reform proposal Jang put forward would move either the public or party members. He added that calls for internal party reform and leadership resignations had "lost some momentum" because the government and ruling party had given the opposition so much to criticize. "There are simply too many missteps by the government and ruling party, and too much for the opposition to criticize, so talk of internal reform and calls for the leadership to step down have inevitably lost a bit of their drive," he said.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com